Journalism as a Public Forum

"Journalists must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise" (Kovach & Rosenstiel).  

Without a public forum, the public would not be able to provide their input and opinion.  If journalists do not know what their viewers are thinking, how will they know what to write? Robert Berdahl, the chancellor of the University of California said, "Democracy is based on a fundamental compromise between the majority and the minority."  Compromise is essential in journalism, but without a public forum, journalists would be unaware of the compromise needed.  
"All the forms that journalists use every day can serve the forum-creating function by alerting the public to issues in a way that encourages judgment.  The natural curiosity of humankind means that by reporting details of scheduled events, disclosing wrongdoing, or outlining a developing trend, journalism sets people wondering.  As the public begins to reacht to these dsiclosures,t he community becomes filled the with public voice--on radio call-in shows, television talk shows, personal opinions on op-ed pages, in blogs, chat rooms, and in public opinion polling and elsewhere.  As these voices are heard by those in positions of power, they make it their business to understand the nature of the public opinion developing around the subject.  It is this process that daily re-creates in modern society the ancient forums in which the world's earliest democracies were formed" (Kovach & Rosenstiel).  This quote from the book The Elements of Journalism, is the perfect reason why journalists should provide a marketplace of ideas.  Public forums allow discussion to be evolve.  Juices in the brain start pumping, and the ideas start flowing.  There are so many media outlets available today that allow us to express our opinions.   

Click HERE for a chart that well describes the process of journalism as a public forum.

What purpose does the watchdog role serve in my life?

As media evolves, the watchdog role has weakened.  The meaning behind the watchdog role has become to "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable."  As journalists, we are responsible for making sure the public is presented with the truth.  The watchdog role has influenced my journalism by pushing me to make sure truth is being told whether it affects the afflicted or the comfortable.  The watchdog principle should push journalists to protect the citizens at large. As a college student, eating junk food is much easier than making a home cooked meal.  Click HERE for the link to a news report on ABC News about the side effects of junk food.  This news report makes the viewer believe that junk food could possibly be equivalent to drugs. When I saw this, it made me fearful of the amount of junk food I eat.  I have now been trying to cut back on the amount of unhealthy food.  Although the watchdog role may not always be 100% accurate, it's sole purpose to watch out for the public.

"The watchdog is unlike any other role. For all that it is similar to all other journalism, it requires special skills, a special temperament, a special hunger.  It also requires a serious commitment of resources, a desire to cover serious concerns, and a press independent of any interest except that of the ultimate consumer of the news.  For all the lip service paid to it, the watchdog principle, like the others outlined here, faces more challenges today than ever.  Yet, as we will see next, the expanding nature of journalism as a public forum has spawned a new wave of journalism assertion, which makes the need for a vibrant and serious watchdog journalism all the more critical.  In this new century, the press must watchdog not only government but also an expanding nonprofit world, a corporate world, and the expanding public debate that new technology is creating" (Kovach & Rosenstiel).

How do journalists accurately cover news without being neutral?

Our book states that journalists should practice objectivity but not neutrality, so that brings up the question: How?

"Journalists must maintain an independence from those they cover," as said in The Elements of Journalism (Kovach & Rosenstiel). This means that they cannot let their emotions play a role in their reporting.  They must remain detached from the specimen of their story.  If they let their emotions take over, then they become biased and produce their story from a certain side.  Journalists must be committed to truthfulness. They must be independent from class or economic status.  They must also be independent from race, ethnicity, religion, and gender. 

Elements of Journalism shows William Saphire's views on the role of loyalty in journalistic verification.  Saphire says loyalty in journalism lies within a combination of friends and colleagues, political ideology, and truth.  Journalists should not let any of these sway their story in any certain direction.  The story should rely on facts, not information clouded by judgement.  

Knowing this, my perspective on the news has changed.  I was not aware of the impact that objectivity has on journalists.  I have a harder time believing what I'm reading contains both sides to a story without influence of emotions.

Click here for an article by PBS about objectivity.

Do you believe journalists truly serve you, the citizen? Why or why not? What should be done differently so that you, the citizen, are effectively served?

As a U.S. citizen, I believe journalists serve a true purpose.  Without journalists, who would do the necessary investigating that produces the news we all obtain our information from? Nobody.  We would not have the ability to pick up a newspaper and know what is going on in countries all over the globe.  We wouldn't even have information concerning events occurring in our own country.  Being a journalist requires much time and effort.  Some journalists risk their lives just to spread the news and make others aware of what is happening in different locations
The only improvement that needs to be made in journalism is credibility.  Journalists today are slacking on integrity and their loyalty to the citizens.  Verification should be a priority among journalists, but not many are showing that quality in today's news.  Some newspaper companies publish information based on what other newspapers produced.  They have the thought that publishing information first is more important than taking the time to make sure what they are publishing is even correct information.
Journalists play an important role in today's society.  It is vital to be up to date on public affairs occurring nationally and globally.  Without journalists, this information would not be available to the public.  The credibility of journalists affects whether they can be trusted as reliable sources or not.  Journalists today should focus not on being the first publish the news, but on being reliable by always posting facts.  By changing this aspect of journalism, journalists would serve an even greater purpose to citizens.

Connor Friedersdorf discussed the purpose of journalism in his blog. To view this blog, click here. 

Do Journalists Report the Truth?

In today's time, it is hard to judge whether the information presented by the news is fact or fiction. As media has progressed, media has raised the stakes for a successful news story. We like to believe that everything we are reading is fact, but it all boils down to the journalist's integrity.  
Journalists have the opportunity to create a news story all on their own.  They can input any information they want as long, and the readers have no way of absolutely knowing if it is true or not. Maybe this is just my opinion, but I believe the truth will escape somehow.  
Every journalist wants to produce the most captivating story.  Most will do whatever it takes to get the audience interested, which means including anonymous quotes from people who probably don't exist or even just including false information.  Journalists report the truth when the truth is interesting enough to make it as a cover story.  In most circumstances, journalists will beef up their story in order to present a popular news article.  Whether they report the truth is all based on the journalists' integrity. For example, Fox News retracted a news story for the first time because of a false story reported on suicides related to Obama's speech.  In the media today, I feel the majority of journalists have stooped to a low integrity level, allowing them to not always report the truth.

What purpose does journalism serve in your life?

Journalism provides the public with information of current events across the glob. Human instinct causes hunger for new knowledge. For people like me, who are emerging into adulthood, journalism may give them a feeling of maturity. Journalism allows me to know what is going on without having to hear about it through someone else. Of course I will still obtain information through other people, but by reading a newspaper or watching the news, I am able to retain more by learning it for myself. As I've gotten older, I've realized the importance of being up to date on the news. By being into date; I can participate in community and public affairs. Most of my classes this semester revolve around the news, so journalism gives me the ability to participate in class. If I'm not aware of events occurring at the time, I cannot contribute to class discussion. Also, this being my first year to participate in the elections, it is important for me to learn which presidential candidate's values reflect my own. By watching the news and reading newspapers, I can decide whom my vote is going to based on the knowledge obtained through journalism. Journalism serves as a way of gaining knowledge and maturity in my life.
Click here for more information on the purpose of journalism.

What is journalism? What is a journalist?

What is journalism? The video shown above is a great description of what journalism entails. Journalism can be found in newspapers, broadcasting, magazines, and on the radio and television. Journalism is not only writing but the report of an investigation. It comes from the perspective of the writer but only includes facts. Journalism grows from the opinions of it's readers.  With journalism, come standards like honesty and commitment. Journalism provides information on current events across the globe. Popular subjects among journalism are politics, stock markets, justice, health, entertainment, wars, and so on.  Without journalism, the world would not be as knowledgable of public affairs at the time.  But journalism is not at all possible without the work of a journalist.  Journalists do all of the investigating required to present a newsworthy story.  Some specific journalist jobs include reporters and editors.  Their job is to search through news and discover what is true and false, then decide what information should be published.  When creating a story, they look for information that would attract an audience.  Difficulty occurs when separating fact from fiction and opinionated views.  There are good journalists and bad journalists.  Whether they are writing fact or fiction is up to them, but in all cases, the truth will come out.  Journalism revolves around current events, and journalists are the ones who sort through and find the breaking news stories we all love to read or watch.  Below is a link to a website with valuable information on journalism. 

http://handbook.reuters.com/index.php/Reporting_and_Writing_Basics